About Rihm Family Companies

Partnering for Success: Providing Expert Solutions to the Transportation Industry

Rihm Family Companies, Inc. (RFC), is a 90 year old family-owned and operated 4th generation business, employing nearly 350 people in Minnesota, Wisconsin & South Dakota, USA.  Companies under the RFC umbrella include Rihm Kenworth, the 2nd oldest Kenworth truck dealership group in the world; RMC Truck Parts, a private label parts sales company; Rihm Leasing, a truck lease, rental, and maintenance company; and Rihm Global Sales, which exports trucks and spare parts to over 60 different countries.

Rihm's Core Values

Rihm has four “Es of Doing Business” which drives the culture of our employees and how we do business.

• Effective – Doing the right things.
• Efficient – Doing things right as we approach all tasks.
• Equity – Providing fair treatment and opportunity for everyone to be successful.
• Expansion – Exploring opportunities to grow, improve and/or expand our business and team members.

Paving the Way for Women in Trucking

In 2010, Kari Rihm's life completely shifted when she became the owner of Rihm Kenworth after the tragic passing of her husband.  Since taking over the business, Kari has expanded the business exponentially.  In 2022, the company is proud to celebrate its 90th anniversary.

Out of only a handful of women owned commercial truck dealers, Kari is the only 100% woman-owned Kenworth dealer in the U.S.  "We need to help create a professional pathway for women to succeed in a traditionally male-dominated business," Kari says.
 

In addition to its rich history, Rihm has been National Women’s Business Enterprise Certified (WBNEC) since 2011 and being woman owned and operated, Kari has received numerous awards in the industry and local community.  You can view a complete list of Rihm’s recent honors and recognition by visiting the Awards & Recognition page.

Why Purchase from Your Local Dealer?

Convenience - Close to home, your local dealer provides a wealth of knowledge regarding the product, as well as on-site inventory for you to tour and test drive prior to making your purchase.

Relationships - Purchasing locally allows you to establish a relationship with your dealer representative providing you with the convenience of service and support when you need it.

Service After Sale - Many dealers put their purchasing customers first when it comes to getting your truck serviced.  You will experience the value your local dealer can add to your purchase.

Local Economy - Local purchases help to keep tax dollars and people at work in our community.
 

We Run on EOS

Rihm Family Companies uses the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to clarify, simplify and achieve our vision.  And we use Traction Tools to track projects, document processes and manage meetings.  There are 6 key components for businesses:

Vision - Strengthening Rihm's mission means getting everyone in the organization 100% on the same page with where we are going and how we are going to get there.

People - Simply put, we can't do it without great people.  This means surrounding ourselves with great people, top to bottom, because we cannot achieve our vision without a great team.

Data - This means cutting through all the feelings, personalities, opinions, and egos and boiling our organization down to a handful of objective numbers that give us an absolute pulse on where things are.

Issues - Strengthening this component means becoming great at solving problems throughout the orgainzation - setting the issues up, knowcking them down and making them go away forever.

Process - This is the secret ingredient at Rihm.  This means "systemizing" our business by identifying and documenting the core processes that define the way to run our business.  Everyone needs to be on the same page with what the essential procedural steps are, and then get everyone to follow them to create consistency and scalability at Rihm.

Traction - This means bringing discipline and accountability into our company - becoming great at execution - taking the vision down to the ground and making it real.